Do criminal penalties have any deterrent effect on drug addicts – people who already are willing to throw away their jobs, relationships, or even lives for their “fix”? What does brain science tell us about addicts’ capacities to exert self control and to be held criminally responsible? This panel discussion brought together a leading neuroscientist of addiction, a criminal law scholar, and a former judge to ask whether the law should reconsider aspects of responsibility and punishment in light of new science about self-control.

Panelists

• Joshua Buckholtz, Assistant Professor, Harvard University Department of Psychology and Faculty Affiliate, Center for Law, Brain and Behavior, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Amanda Pustilnik, Senior Fellow in Law and Applied Neuroscience, Petrie-Flom Center/Center for Law, Brain and Behavior, and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law
• Judge Nancy Gertner, Senior Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School and Faculty Affiliate, Center for Law, Brain and Behavior, Massachusetts General Hospital

Recording

Part of the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience.